SINGAPORE, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Gold languished near a four-week low on Tuesday as investors bet the Federal Reserve would hike U.S. rates this year, triggering fund outflows.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was little changed at $1,133.65 an ounce by 0016 GMT, not far from a four-week low of $1,132.35 reached in the previous session. The metal slid for a fourth consecutive session on Monday.
* Gold is seeing a sell-off as investors position themselves for a possible U.S. rate hike this year. Last week, the Fed firmly put a December rate rise in play, hurting earlier expectations that the increase could be pushed to next year on global growth concerns.
* As a non-interest-paying asset, gold demand could take a hit from higher rates, while the dollar would also be boosted.
* U.S. economic data on Monday was supportive of a rate hike this year. Manufacturing activity in October hit a 2-1/2-year low, but a rise in new orders offered hope the United States might have seen its worst. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12X114
* Other data showed construction spending rose in September to the highest in 7-1/2 years, indicating the economy remained on firmer ground despite signs of consumer spending cooling.
* The rate hike expectations have kept interest in gold muted as seen in investor flows.
* Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the top gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.43 percent to 689.28 tonnes on Monday, the lowest in three weeks.
* Speculators have trimmed bullish bets on gold from an 8-1/2-month high. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12U2BW
* Technical selling and soft physical demand could also hurt gold prices.
* CME Group Inc's CME.O online trading platform CME Direct reopened four hours after it was shut on Monday due to a technical issue, the latest glitch to hit the world's largest futures market operator and roil commodity trading. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12X15J
* For the top stories on metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or GOL
MARKET NEWS
* U.S. stocks climbed on Monday after mixed U.S. economic data and slightly stronger-than-expected German factory activity helped European stocks, even as weak Chinese data pushed down Asian markets and crude oil prices. MKTS/GLOB
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
1445 U.S. ISM-New York index Oct
1500 U.S. Factory orders Sep
PRICES AT 0016 GMT Metal
Last
Change Pct chg
Spot gold
1133.65
0.3
0.03 Spot silver
15.39
0
0 Spot platinum
971
-1.5
-0.15 Spot palladium
649
1.5
0.23 Comex gold
1133.6
-2.3
-0.2 Comex silver
15.4 -0.008
-0.05
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months